Daniel O'Donnell

By the mid-'90s, after a solid decade on the road, soft-spoken crooner Daniel O'Donnell had become a household name, singing for the people — his people — who were mostly female and in thrall to his golden tonsils and genuine "lovely boy next door" persona. Ease into the O'Donnell magic here with his swoonful "Danny Boy", the George Strait cover "I Just Want to Dance with You" — which brought his first appearance on Top of the Pops — and 1998's charity track "Give a Little Love". O'Donnell takes on Buck Owens with Mary Duff, in Next Steps.

Over the years, Daniel O'Donnell has forged a close professional relationship with Mary Duff, who had successfully auditioned for a special guest slot on his first-ever U.K. tour — here, the pair intertwine like vocal honeysuckle on "Timeless", "Secret Love", and the Buck Owens classic "Together Again". Solo, O'Donnell returns the "Green, Green Grass of Home" to its country roots (most folks are familiar only with the soul-soaked Tom Jones version), and gets all exotic on "Uno Mas". Find one of Danny Boy's most loved tunes, in Deep Cuts.

The Johnny McCauley song "My Donegal Shore" is very much an O'Donnell landmark — he chose the track for his first-ever self-funded recording session (it cost him a princely 1200 pounds) back in the early '80s. We've also included here his take on the 1962 track "Rhythm of the Rain" by the Cascades, a gorgeous blend of nostalgia and vocal caramel, as well as the duet "All I Want Is You" with his second wife, Majella, as well as the inspirational "How Great Thou Art".

Daniel O'Donnell seems to belong to another age: a dependable and reassuring golden age of entertainment based on old-fashioned values and tunes. The bright-eyed lad from County Donegal became a singing sensation without any huge PR push, just through good old-fashioned grassroots touring — in the early days he would even invite fans back for tea at home in Kincasslagh, where he was still living with his mum. Since then, his star has risen magnificently at home and in the U.K., and he's also made a huge splash in the States, thanks to a series of concert specials on public television. This collection of his finest work takes in his best traditional, country, and inspirational tunes and leaves us in awe of a lasting talent.